Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

81 Carl Sandburg Lane Flat Rock, NC 28731-8635 828/693-4178 phone 828/693-4179 fax

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Through the Eyes of a Poet Grade(s): Ninth – Twelfth Grade Curriculum Goals Supported: National Education Standards: English I: 5.01 , 5.03 English II: 1.02 , 2.01, 3.03, 4.02 North Carolina Standard Course of Study: English I: 3.01, 3.02, 3.03, 5.01, 5.03, English II: 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 2.01, 3.01, 3.02, 3.03, 4.02, 4.05 English III: 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 3.01, 3.02, 3.04, 4.02, 5.01, 5.02 English IV: 1.02, 1.03, 2.03, 3.01, 3.03 Social Studies: Ninth (6.01, 6.02) Eleventh (4.01, 5.01, 5.03, 7.01, 7.02, 7.03) Essential Questions:

Can events, issues and location influence a writer’s opinion and work? What various events influenced the writings of Carl Sandburg? Do current events, cultural background and locations influence your opinions?

Key Vocabulary: Social Reformer: A disputant who advocates reform; one who tries to change society. Point of View: the perspective from which the story is told. Ballad: a relatively short narrative poem, written to be sung, with a simple and dramatic action. The ballads tell of love, death etc.

How to Use This Curriculum “Through the Eyes of a Poet” is comprised of three segments: 1- Pre-Activities, 2- On-site Field Trip, 3- Post-Activities. The lesson plans have been designed to create an interactive and educational environment for students to learn about the life of the Famous American Poet, Carl Sandburg. Teachers are encouraged to complete Pre-Activities in the classroom prior to visiting the Carl Sandburg Home NHS in order to better prepare students for the trip. During the on-site visit students will tour the home where Carl Sandburg spent the last 22 years of his life. Students will also tour Connemara Farms where Mrs. Sandburg raised goats. Post-Activities are to be completed in the classroom upon returning from the on-site field trip. If you would like to visit the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site with your class please make a reservation with the Park’s Education Coordinator by calling 828-693-4178.

Pre-Visit Lesson: Through the Eyes of a Poet Lesson Length: 45-60 minutes Lesson Objectives:

Students will understand that events and issues inspired many of Sandburg’s poems.

Challenge students to think critically by having them match a primary source item to a poem of Carl Sandburg's.

Students will identify a theme in various Sandburg poems which relates to an event in American History.

Materials Needed Various poems written Carl Sandburg (included) Various historic photos (included) White board for modeling exercise Writing instruments Unlined paper Suggested Procedure:

1. Working in pairs, analyze a photograph using the Photo Analysis Worksheet. 2. Working in pairs, analyze a poem by Carl Sandburg using the Poem Analysis

Worksheet. 3. Share information, as a whole group, gained in each analysis. Together, match the

poem titles to the photographs.

4. Choose one photograph (any on the board), have each student create a poem inspired by that photograph.

5. Discuss how poems can help us to understand events and how events can inspire

artistic expression. What is it about the photograph you chose that inspired you to create your poem? What do you think inspired Mr. Sandburg to write the poems displayed here?

Extension: Research events in American History that may have influenced Sandburg’s writing. What events have occurred in your lifetime that may influence what you write about?

On-Site Lesson: A Poet’s Journey Lesson Length: House tour 30 minutes per tour; Post tour lesson 30-45 minutes On-Site Objectives:

Identify objects in the home that Carl Sandburg owned and make connections about the objects as pertaining to the historic events which inspired his writings.

Students will create poems which are inspired by their surroundings and current events.

Materials Needed Paper & Pencils Book: Honey and Salt by Carl Sandburg Suggested Procedure:

1. Ask students to remember the pre-visit lesson completed in class. Discuss how Sandburg’s writing was often inspired by events and things which were around him. Take a tour of the Carl Sandburg Home with a tour guide. Have the students look for items in the home which have connections to historic events which inspired his writings. Ask the tour guide to help you with this objective.

2. After the tour, bring students to the large rock outcrop located behind the house. This is a spot where Carl Sandburg often went to read, write and sit. Have a discussion as to why Sandburg might choose to come to this spot. Ask questions such as “Would this be an inspiring place?” “What are some themes that Sandburg might write about in this spot?”

3. Read a couple of poems such as “Lesson”, “Metamorphosis” & “Elm Buds” from

the book Honey and Salt by Carl Sandburg. This book was written while living at Connemara and several of the poems have elements of nature.

4. Tell students that they will have a chance to write their own original poems while

sitting on the same rock that Carl Sandburg did. Students may write any form of poetry however their poems must have a theme that is relevant and important to their life, current events and/or current surroundings.

5. Have students find their own spot on the rock (make sure they stay within your

sight and within hearing distance). Remind students that this is a quiet activity and no talking should be heard.

6. Allow students 15 minutes to write, giving them a five minute “time’s up” warning.

If students have completed their poem before the 15 minutes they should remain where they are sitting in silence. When the 15 minute period has passed students should gather together once again. Students willing to share their poems should be encouraged to do so.

Post-Visit Lesson 1: Songs That Tell a Story Lesson length: 45-60 minute Lesson Objectives:

Students will understand that writers are greatly influenced by their surroundings and events.

Students will compare and contrast Sandburg’s poems to contemporary Ballad poems.

Materials Needed: Poetry Analysis Sheet (Blank) Poetry Analysis sheets from pre-lesson activity Lyrics to Bob Dylan’s “Union Sun Down” (included) Book: Chicago Poems by Carl Sandburg

Background Information: While visiting the Carl Sandburg Home students will likely learn that Carl Sandburg had a deep appreciation for music. He often ended his lectures by playing his guitar and singing some of his favorite American folk songs. In 1927, poet Carl Sandburg published The American Songbag which featured words and music to 280 songs and ballads that have been sung throughout American history. Many of these songs have themes like Sandburg’s poems and tell a story. Carl Sandburg was admired by many song writers and poets such as Bob Dylan. Like Sandburg, many of Dylan’s songs are wonderful examples of poems influenced by historic events. In the 1960’s Bob Dylan even stopped by Connemara to meet Carl Sandburg. Sandburg and Dylan visited for about twenty minutes on the front porch and talked about poetry and folk music. Despite their age difference, Sandburg and Dylan had much in common. They were both first generation Americans, born in the Midwest. They both admired Whitman and Guthrie and were collectors of folk songs. Suggested Procedure:

1. Have students analyze the words to Bob Dylan’s song Union Sun Down using the poetry analysis sheet.

2. Using the poetry analysis sheet from the pre-lesson activity, have students compare

and contrast Bob Dylan’s Union Sun Down and Carl Sandburg’s Mill Doors or They Will Say.

Extension: 1. Have students research and find a song of their choice which is

a. Written by the singer b. Tells a story.

2. Have the students bring the printed words of their chosen song to class. (should also include song title and artist) Please make sure to reinforce that the song must be free of derogatory words.

3. Using the Poem Analysis Worksheet once again, ask the students to analyze their chosen song.

Post-Visit Lesson 2: Point of View Lesson length: 60 minute (plus research time) Lesson Objectives:

Students will learn Sandburg’s view of child labor through his poems and his involvement with the Social Democratic Party.

Students will analyze historic photos Students will research, prepare and present various points of view regarding child labor in

the early 1900’s. Materials Needed: Media Center (for research purposes) Pencil and paper Photos (included) Background Information: Carl Sandburg was the son of a Swedish American immigrant family. After completing the eighth grade he went to work holding a variety of jobs- delivering milk, shining shoes, laying bricks and more. In 1897 he rode the rail traveling as a hobo, meeting folks from all over the country- a journey which fostered the man who he was about to become. His experiences greatly influenced his writing and political views. Sandburg lived during a time of great change in our country. He witnessed child labor, the labor rights movement, the Chicago race riots, segregation, women’s suffrage movement, the Great Depression, World War I and II, and more. In the early 1900’s Sandburg was an active member of the Social Democratic Party (as was Lilian Steichen, whom he married in 1908). Through his political activism and his writing Sandburg spoke for those who had no words or power to speak for themselves, which is why he was and still is known today as “The Poet of the People”. Suggested Procedure:

1. Divide students into groups of 4 or 5 individuals. Assign each group one of the following roles: Children, Parents, Employers, Mayor, Social Reformers, and Journalist. Distribute historic photos which pertain to their group.

2. Have students analyze the photos using the photograph analysis sheets. These photos will persuade them in their point of view.

3. Give the students the following scenario: 1910: You live in a small town in North Carolina. There is a large cotton mill in your town where many people are employed, including many young children. There will be a town meeting in your community to discuss the question: “Should children be working in the mill rather than attending school?”

4. Have each group research, prepare and present their point of view (in character) regarding child labor.

5. Create a simulation of a town meeting in which each group presents their point of view.

Photographic Analysis

1. What is the name of your photo? _______________________________________

Objective Observation Subjective Observation Knowledge Deduction Describe what you see in the photograph—the forms and structures, the arrangement

of the various elements. Avoid personal feelings or

interpretations. Your description should help

someone who has not seen the image to visualize it.

Describe your personal feelings, associations, and

judgments about the image. Always anchor your

subjective response in something that is seen. For

example, “I see…, and it makes me think of…”

Describe prior knowledge that you can associate with this image including prior

experience, study, assumptions, and intuitions.

What can you conclude about this photograph?

Questions: What questions does this photograph raise? What else would you need to know?

Poetry Analysis Form

Name: What is the title of your poem?

Title: What predictions can you make from the title? What are your initial thoughts about the poem?

Paraphrase: Summarize the poem in your own words.

Connotation: What is the connotative meaning of the poem? Find examples of imagery, metaphors, similes, etc. and elaborate on their connotative meanings.

Attitude: What attitude does the poet have toward the subject of the poem? Find and list examples that illustrate the tone and mood of the poem.

Shift: Is there a shift in the tone/attitude of the poem? Where is the shift? What does the tone shift to?

Title: Revisit the title and explain any new insights it provides to the meaning of the poem.

Theme: What is the overall theme of the poem?

MILL DOORS You never come back. I say good-by when I see you going in the doors, The hopeless open doors that call and wait And take you then for-how many cents a day? How many cents for the sleepy eyes and fingers? I say good-by because I know they tap your wrists, In the dark, in the silence, day by day, And all the blood of you drop by drop, And you are old before you are young. You never come back. Carl Sandburg, Chicago Poems, 1916.

THEY WILL SAY Of my city the worst that men will ever say is this: You took little children away from the sun and the dew, And the glimmers that played in the grass under the great sky, And the reckless rain; you put them between walls To work, broken and smothered, for bread and wages, To eat dust in their throats and die empty-hearted For a little handful of pay on a few Saturday nights. Carl Sandburg, Chicago Poems, 1916.

THE RIGHT TO GRIEF To Certain Poets About to Die

Take your fill of intimate remorse, perfumed sorrow, Over the dead child of a millionaire, And the pity of death refusing any check on the bank Which the millionaire might order his secretary to scratch off And get cashed. Very well, You for your grief and I for mine. Let me have a sorrow my own if I want to. I shall cry over the dead child of a stockyards hunky. His job is sweeping blood off the floor. He gets a dollar seventy cents a day when he works And it’s many tubs of blood he shoves out with a broom day by day. Now his three year old daughter Is in a white coffin that cost him a week’s wages. Every Saturday night he will pay the undertaker fifty cents till the debt is wiped out. The hunky and his wife and the kids Cry over the pinched face almost at peace in the white box. They remember it was scrawny and ran up high doctor bills. They are glad it is gone for the rest of the family now will have more to eat and wear. Yet before the majesty of Death they cry around the coffin And wipe their eyes with red bandanas and sob when the priest says, “God have mercy on us all.” I have a right to feel my throat choke about this. You take your grief and I mine-see? Tomorrow there is a funeral and the hunky goes back to his job sweeping blood off the floor at a dollar seventy cents a day. All he does all day long is keep on shoving hog blood ahead of him with a broom. Carl Sandburg, Chicago Poems, 1916.

MAG I wish to God I never saw you, Mag. I wish you never quit your job and came along with me. I wish we never bought the license and a white dress For you to get married in the day we ran off to a minister And told him we would love each other and take care of each other Always and always long as the sun and the rain lasts anywhere. Yes, I’m wishing now you lived somewhere away from here And I was a bum on the bumpers a thousand miles away dead broke. I wish the kids had never come And rent and coal and clothes to pay for And a grocery man calling for cash, Every day cash for beans and prunes. I wish to God I never saw you, Mag. I wish to God the kids had never come. Carl Sandburg, Chicago Poems, 1916

BUTTONS I HAVE been watching the war map slammed up for advertising in front of the newspaper office. Buttons-red and yellow buttons-blue and black buttons-are shoved back and forth across the map. A laughing young man, sunny with freckles, Climbs a ladder, yells a joke to somebody in the crowd, And then fixes a yellow button one inch west And follows the yellow button with a black button one inch west. (Ten thousand men and boys twist on their bodies in a red soak

along a river edge, Gasping of wounds, calling for water, some rattling death in their

throats.) Who would guess what it cost to move two buttons one inch on the war map here in front of the newspaper office where the

freckle-faced young man is laughing to us? Carl Sandburg, Chicago Poems, 1916.

Pre-Visit Lesson: Through the Eyes of a Poet (Answer Key for Teachers)

Item Name: Girl in Cherryville Mill. Location: Cherryville, North Carolina, 1908 Credit Line: Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer. Poem: “Mill Doors”, Chicago Poems, 1916 Theme: Child Labor Item Name: CARL 109926 Part 34, Plate 171, Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies 1861-1865, Published 1895 Credit Line: Courtesy National Park Service, Carl Sandburg Home NHS Museum Collection Poem: “Buttons”, Chicago Poems, 1916 Theme: War Item Name: Cherryville Mfg. Co., Cherryville, N.C. One of the smallest boys. Doffer. Location: Cherryville, North Carolina. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer. 1908 November. Poem: “They Will Say”, Chicago Poems, 1916 Theme: Child Labor

Item Name: Johnie William Bumgarden, (boy in front and part of his family). Rock Hill. S.C. Location: Rock Hill, South Carolina. Credit Line: Suggested credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer. 1912 May. Poem: “Mag”, Chicago Poems, 1916 Theme: Struggle Item Name: Chicago - Meat Packing Industry: dressing beef, slaughtering floor, Swift & Co.'s Packing House, c. 1906 Credit Line: LC-USZ62-51780 (b&w film copy neg. of half stereo) No known restrictions on publication. Poem: “The Right to Grief”, Chicago Poems, 1916 Theme: Struggle

Post-Visit Lesson1: Songs that Tell a Story Union Sun Down Well, my shoes, they come from Singapore, My flashlight's from Taiwan, My tablecloth's from Malaysia, My belt buckle's from the Amazon. You know, this shirt I wear comes from the Philippines And the car I drive is a Chevrolet, It was put together down in Argentina By a guy makin' thirty cents a day. Well, it's sundown on the union And what's made in the U.S.A. Sure was a good idea 'Til greed got in the way. Well, this silk dress is from Hong Kong And the pearls are from Japan. Well, the dog collar's from India And the flower pot's from Pakistan. All the furniture, it says "Made in Brazil" Where a woman, she slaved for sure Bringin' home thirty cents a day to a family of twelve, You know, that's a lot of money to her. Well, it's sundown on the union And what's made in the U.S.A. Sure was a good idea 'Til greed got in the way. Well, you know, lots of people complainin' that there is no work. I say, "Why you say that for When nothin' you got is U.S.-made?" They don't make nothin' here no more, You know, capitalism is above the law. It say, "It don't count 'less it sells." When it costs too much to build it at home You just build it cheaper someplace else.

Well, it's sundown on the union And what's made in the U.S.A. Sure was a good idea 'Til greed got in the way. Well, the job that you used to have, They gave it to somebody down in El Salvador. The unions are big business, friend, And they're goin' out like a dinosaur. They used to grow food in Kansas Now they want to grow it on the moon and eat it raw. I can see the day coming when even your home garden Is gonna be against the law. Well, it's sundown on the union And what's made in the U.S.A. Sure was a good idea 'Til greed got in the way. Democracy don't rule the world, You'd better get that in your head. This world is ruled by violence But I guess that's better left unsaid. From Broadway to the Milky Way, That's a lot of territory indeed And a man's gonna do what he has to do When he's got a hungry mouth to feed. Well, it's sundown on the union And what's made in the U.S.A. Sure was a good idea 'Til greed got in the way.

Lyrics by Bob Dylan 1983 Special Rider Music

Post-Visit Lesson 2: Point of View (photos)

CREATOR: Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer.

Photo 2: Social Reformer TITLE: Mrs. Brown at Child Labor hearing. Washington, D.C., May 20. Mrs. La Rae Brown of Boston, Mass., Director of the National League of Women Voters appeared before the Senate Interstate Commerce Committee today. She stated that she was in favor or Sen. Alden W. Barkley's bill which would prohibit the interstate shipment of goods made by child labor, 5/20/1937 CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1937 May CREATOR:Harris & Ewing, photographer.

Photo 1: Social Reformer TITLE: Exhibit panel. CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1913?

Photo 3: Social Reformer TITLE: A menace to Society. The Padgett family. The entire family including the mother totally illiterate. No one could read or write. The mother does mill work some. Alice, 17 years has steady job. Makes from $5 to $6 a week. Alfred, 13 years now, worked here when he was 12, and in other mills before that. Makes $4 a week. Recently crippled by getting his hand caught in the cogs of a spinning machine. Richard just reached 11. Been working here 1 year; began when he was 10. Makes $2.40 a week. "The work runs him down too." William, 6 years old, nearly blind. Lizzie, 5 years old. Home in utter neglect; filthy and bare. When investigator called the mother had been gone about an hour, leaving a roomer's 3 months old baby in the cradle before an open fire on the hearth, and only two children 5 and 6 years old - one nearly blind, playing around. She came back and fed them a lot of cheap candy. What will Society reap from its neglect of this family? Shaw Cotton Mills. Location: South Weldon, North Carolina CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1914 Nov. CREATOR: Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer.

Photo 4: Mill Employer TITLE: Mr. Smith, overseer in Wylie Mill, Chester, S.C. He will not let his children work in the mill. Says it is no place for them. Plenty of children below 12 in his mill. He said that it is a common practice all through the South for employers in cotton mills to evade the child labor law by allowing young children to help their older sisters or brothers. The name of the small child is not on the books. "That is the way we manage it." Nov. 28/08. Location: Chester, South Carolina CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1908 November 28. CREATOR: Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer.

Photo 5: Mill Employer TITLE: The superintendent and one of the spinners, Catawba Cotton Mills, Newton, N.C. Others smaller still. Ten boys and girls this size and smaller out of a force of 40 employees. Location: Newton, North Carolina CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1908 December. CREATOR:Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer.

Photo 6: Mill Employer TITLE: R.B. Whitley, who was one of the first citizens of the town and is one of its leading citizens, owner of the general store, president of the bank, and owns a cotton mill nearby and a farm. He is a big land owner, owns Whitley-Davis farm and a cotton mill in Clayton. He said he cut down the trees and pulled the stumps out of the main street, and was the first man in that town of Wendell, Wake County, North Carolina CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1939 Sept CREATOR: Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910- photographer.

Photo 7: Children TITLE: Cherryville Mfg. Co., Cherryville, N.C. One of the smallest boys. Doffer. Location: Cherryville, North Carolina. CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1908 November. CREATOR: Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer.

Photo 7: Children TITLE: Protest against child labor in a labor parade CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1909 May 1 Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).

Photo 8: Parents TITLE: A part of the Hopkins family. All of these (and "except the least one") in the mill. Belton Mfg. Co. The two girls together run 10 sides $1.10 a day. The little girl apparently not 12 years old couldn't write her name. The next to the smallest boy doesn't appear to be 12 years makes 50 cents a day sweeping. 3 others not in the photo, work. The mother showed me the family record of the older half of the family. "The other list got destroyed." (Queer.) Location: Belton, South Carolina. CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1912, May CREATOR: Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer.

Photo 9: Parents TITLE: Flossie Britt, 6 years old has been working several months steadily as spinner in the Lumberton Cotton Mills. Makes 30 cents a day. Lonnie Britt, 7 years old has been working steadily for 1 year as spinner. Makes 40 cents a day. Ages and data given me by their grandmother at home, and I saw them going and coming early and late. 2 smallest in group. When Mr. Swift made his last visit to Lumberton he was shown through these mills by Mr. Jennings, who asked Mr. Swift how many children he thought there were under age. Mr. Swift said about 20, Mr. Jennings told him there were at least 30, and called one of his men to prove he was right. He told Mr. Swift that all the mills were employing children under age April 1915: A subsequent visit to this family brought out the information that Flossie was 8 years old and Lonnie 10 years old when I saw them. That the boss asked the mother to bring Lonnie to work, and that she worked about 1/2 year as steadily as she could. That another boss asked the mother to bring Flossie to work and that the girl soon became sick. The mother became disgusted and quit the mill for life on her father's farm where they are now located. There was no need for the children working. Since they moved to the farm the superintendent and 2 other persons visited the family and tried to intimidate them and get them to make mis-statements about the children's ages and work. Location: Lumberton, North Carolina. CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1914 November CREATOR:Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer.

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Photo 11: Journalist TITLE: Johnie William Bumgarden (boy in front and part of his family). His birth record in the family bible says born May 7th, 190[2?] Just past his 10th birthday, is learning to doff. Got a regular job. 35 cents a day. Been at it a few weeks. Cannot write very well. Says he is 12 years old. Father said 5 of the family formerly worked in the mill making $28 a week. They take boarders which bring them $5 a week. A total of $33 a week. (Later the father said the record in the bible was put in wrong.) Rock Hill. S.C. Location: Rock Hill, South Carolina. CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1912 May CREATOR: Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer.

Photo 10: Journalist TITLE: Some of the youngsters working in Pell City Cotton Mill. Mr. E.A. Thompson, Supt. of the Mill is also Mayor of Pell City. Location: Pell City, Alabama CREATED: 1910 November CREATOR: Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer.

Photo 12: Journalist TITLE: "Hell or Heaven." Washington D.C. Congressman Louis Ludlow of Indiana, for many years Washington correspondent for the Columbus, O. Dispatch and other newspapers, is the author of "Hell or Heaven", a treatise on how to keep America out of war. Before he was elected to Congress in 1929, Rep. Ludlow served as a Washington journalist for 28 years CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1937 Jan. 25 CREATOR: Harris & Ewing, photographer.

Photo 13: Mayor TITLE: Cardinal Gibbbons on accepting membership in the National Child Labor Committee. CREATED/PUBLISHED: ca. 1913? CREATOR: Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer.

Photo 14: Mayor TITLE: Mr. R.B. Whitley visiting in his general store. He is president of the bank and practically owns and runs the town. He is a big landowner, owns Whitley-Davis Farm and a cotton mill in Clayton. He said he cut down the trees and pulled up the stumps in that town of Wendell. Wake County, North Carolina CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1939 Nov CREATOR: Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910- photographer.

Photo 15: Mayor TITLE: THOMPSON. MAYOR OF CHICAGO CREATED/PUBLISHED: between 1911 and 1917 CREATOR: Harris & Ewing, photographer

Photo 16: Mayor TITLE: WILSON, WOODROW. SIGNING CHILD LABOR BILL CREATED/PUBLISHED: between 1910 and 1917 CREATOR: Harris & Ewing, photographer.